Small Business Owners And Mental Health Report - Industry
Small Business andMental Health:Supporting SmallBusiness when they areFacing ChallengesReportPrepared forDepartment of Industry, Science,Energy and ResourcesJuly 2020
Table of contentsExecutive Summary.5Key Findings .6Background .8About the Research . 10Background Research . 12Study Methodology . 13Online Survey. 13In-depth Interviews . 14Research Results . 15Business Owner Wellbeing . 16Rating Wellbeing . 17Table 1:Rating of Wellbeing . 17Rating of Wellbeing by Category . 19Level of Concern about Personal Mental Health . 21Rating of Level of Concern for Personal Mental Health . 21Rating of Level of Concern for Personal Mental Health by Category . 22Rating Mental Health. 24Rating of Mental Health in General . 24Main Stressors for Small Business Owners . 25Rating of Stressors . 25Financial Stressors. 26Table 2:Rating of Financial Stressors by Category . 28Social Stressors . 30Table 3:Rating of Social Stressors by Category . 32Staffing Stressors . 35Table 4:Rating of Staffing Issue Stressors by Category . 37Stressors from Government Requirements . 39Table 5:Rating of Government Requirement Stressors by Category . 40Stressors from Lack of Access to Knowledge and Assistance . 43Table 6:Rating of Knowledge and Assistance Stressors by Category . 44Stressors for Small Business Owners due to Crises . 47Main Stressors . 48Business Still Operating . 49Changes Made . 49Growth Opportunities . 50Accessing Support. 51Sources of Support . 53Table 7:Table 8:Sources of Support when Anxious and Concerned . 53Use of Business Contacts Support when Anxious by Category . 55Use of Other Business Support when Anxious by Category . 58Main Report: Small Business Owners and Mental Health 20202
Table 9:Table 10:Table 11:Use of Business Networks and Associations Support when Anxious by Category . 62Use of Family and Friends Support when Anxious by Category . 64Use of Professional Support when Anxious by Category . 67Strategies to Monitor Wellbeing and Mental Health . 69Table 12:Table 13:Table 14:Strategies used to maintain and monitor mental health and wellbeing . 69Connecting with Others as a Strategy by Category . 70Physical Distractions as a Strategy by Category . 72No Particular Strategy by Category . 74Regularity of Sources of Support Used. 76Table 15:Regularity of Use of Sources of Support . 76Use of Support by Category. 77Reasons for Using Peer Networks. 80Barriers to Accessing Support . 81Barriers to Seeking Help . 82Methods for Accessing Information Services . 83Ranking Modes for Information Services . 84Methods for Accessing Services . 85Ranking Modes for Information Services . 85Awareness and Use of Existing Support Services . 86Table 16:Table 17:Table 18:Table 19:Table 20:Awareness and Use of Support Services . 87Not Aware of Mental Health Support Agencies by Business Size . 89Not Aware of Mental Health Support Agencies by Age and Gender . 90Not Aware of Mental Health Support Agencies by CALD and non-CALD . 91Not Aware of Mental Health Support Agencies by Location . 92Not Aware of Mental Health Support Agencies by Business Cycle . 93Effectiveness of Support . 94Use of Support Services . 94Table 21:Support Services Used in Past Few Months . 94Use of Support by Category. 95Mode of Support Services Used in Past Few Months . 98Evaluation of Support Services Used . 99Table 22:Table 23:Qualities of Support Services Used in Past Few Months . 99Aspect of Service that Stood Out . 100Aspect of Service that Did Not Like . 101Likely to Recommend Support Services Used in Past Few Months . 102Mode of Support Services Used in Past Few Months . 103Response to Bushfires and COVID-19 . 104Satisfaction with Available Support . 104Satisfaction Rating for Availability of Support . 104Gaps in Support . 105Support Services Used in Past Few Months . 107Mental Health Support in times of Crisis . 108Agreement with Statements About Mental Health Support . 108Role for Australian Government in Providing Mental Health Support . 109Australian Government Working with other Organisations to Provide Support . 113Main Report: Small Business Owners and Mental Health 20203
Working with Mental Health . 114Attitudes to Mental Health in the Workplace . 114Agreement with Statements About Mental Health in the Workplace . 114Training . 117Table 24:Training Undertaken . 117Rating of Training by Category . 120Time Spent in Training . 122Time Spent in Training . 123Training Budget . 124Annual Training Budget . 124Reasons for Training . 125Table 25:Reasons for Training Types . 125Summary Recommendations . 128Appendix A –Sample Plan . 130Appendix B – Questionnaire . 137Appendix C - Suggestions for the Questionnaire . 158Appendix D – Profile of Respondents . 159Age . 159Gender . 159Education . 160Indigenous . 160CALD . 161Business Location . 161State . 161Remoteness . 162Business Size . 162Business Industry . 163Business Establishment . 164Business Ownership . 164Business Stage . 165Business Employee Number . 165Personal Health . 166Social Interaction . 166Appendix E: Background research . 167Methodology. 167Main Findings . 168Recommendations for Research Direction and Scope of Study . 174This project was conducted in compliance with the International Standard ISO20252:2012 Quality in Market andSocial Research. No part of the research process was subcontracted.Main Report: Small Business Owners and Mental Health 20204
Executive SummarySmall businesses make up the majority of all actively trading businesses in Australia and havebeen reported to experience higher levels of mental ill-health. Despite this, there has been adisproportionate focus on developing mental health programs suited to larger workplaces. Whilethese programs have been reported effective for their target audience, they do not respond tothe unique risk factors faced by small businesses, leaving many small business owners at riskof poor mental health, poor general health, and family conflict. In recognition of this, theAustralian Government has committed resources and funding, and worked with a wide range ofstakeholder groups to develop an evidence-based approach to alleviating the mental strains onsmall business owners.In December 2019, the Australian Government, as represented by the Department of Industry,Science, Energy and Resources, formerly the Department of Employment, Skills, Small andFamily Business, commissioned McNair yellowSquares to conduct research on Small BusinessOwners (SBOs) in Australia.It is important to note that whilst the research was conducted during the time of the COVID-19pandemic, objectives were not aimed solely to discover the effects of crises such as COVID-19and bushfires on SBOs but also to present a holistic coverage of SBO challenge points.Generally, the objectives of the research were: to inform policy to determine service needs; to determine the stressors affecting SBOs; and identify existing gaps in the provision of support for mental health and services to SBOs.The research was conducted following secondary background research during January –February 2020 with an update in June 2020 to include research focusing on COVID-19 andsmall businesses. The primary research was conducted between April and June 2020comprising of an online survey amongst 1015 SBOs to understand behaviours and attitudestowards mental health and their access to support. This was followed by in-depth interviewswith 35 SBOs to enhance a deeper understanding of the challenges faced and the types ofsupport sought, particularly during times of crisis.Main Report: Small Business Owners and Mental Health 20205
Key FindingsThe results from the study of SBOs provide insights into their perceptions of mental health, andtheir access, use and evaluation of available support services.Some of the key results and conclusions to be drawn from the study include: While most SBOs felt that what they do is worthwhile (average rating 7.2/10) and aremore likely than not to rate themselves as happy (6.8/10) nearly one in three (28%)reported a diagnosis in the last 12 months of either stress, depression or anxiety. The main factors contributing to stress for SBOs are financial concerns and concernsabout the impact on family and personal life. The stage of the business cycle has alarge effect on mental wellbeing of the SBO. Younger (aged 18-39 years), females andSBOs in the start-up and pre-profit stage and the established but stressed stage werelikely to report greater concern for their mental health than other small businesses. The results from the study, both qualitative and quantitative indicate that there is atension between the reported overall positive wellbeing and the high level of stressexperienced by SBOs. It appears that the level of stress is underreported. In the indepth interviews, SBOs would initially say that they were “fine” but during the course ofthe interview signs of stress such as not sleeping, would be reported. Furtherinvestigation may be warranted to determine the triggers and timing of stress, anxiety,and depressive episodes amongst SBOs. As this research was conducted during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and followingthe bushfire crisis, the majority of SBOs reported feeling higher levels of stress incomparison to times of normality. Again, the main issue was financial concerns anduncertainty about the viability of the business. Those with staff were also concerned forthe welfare of their employees, providing an additional source of stress for the SBO.Many business owners changed the way they operated as a way of surviving the crisis.Interestingly, the effect of the crises was not all negative with 17% of businesses findingnew growth opportunities. Overall, SBOs rate the response from the Australian Government to the crises quitehighly. The response has been rated more highly for those impacted by the COVID-19pandemic (6.4/10) than for those who were affected by the bushfires (6.1/10). AustralianGovernment assistance in the form of JobKeeper and tax benefits helped alleviate thestress. It should be noted that the introduction of JobKeeper had the dual benefit ofproviding financial support and indirectly easing stress. Half (50%) of all SBOs said thatthey did not think they were missing any support. When asked how they deal with stress many SBOs either will report having no stress(21%) or will just cope with the stress by themselves (9%). This is the case particularlyfor older male SBOs. This may be an example of the ‘can do’ attitude that appears asan inherent characteristic of SBOs and may well be why they choose this route overbecoming an employee. Even in times of crisis, once the financial concerns aremanaged, the SBO is likely to believe that they do not require additional help. Anotherpossibility is that whilst SBOs are tolerant of others being open about their mentalhealth in the workplace, they are likely to conceal their own mental health issues fromothers.Main Report: Small Business Owners and Mental Health 20206
When business owners feel anxious and concerned about their business, they are likelyto turn to a variety of sources. The main strategies that SBOs have in place are toconnect with other people, particularly business colleagues, friends, and family. Eventhough the greatest number (45%) reported that they often or always turn to their family,the other common forms of support are based around seeking support from businessservices and contacts, including research online (32%) and researching learning anddevelopment options for new innovations or opportunities (22%). The qualitative studyalso showed that SBOs were highly likely to start searching online when looking forsupport services for their mental health. Whilst some of the existing mental healthservices were known to SBOs, few had been accessed. Furthermore, there were manyservices with very low awareness levels, particularly amongst SBOs from a CALDbackground. Added to a lack of awareness, other barriers to accessing supportservices included the high cost, lack of time and availability of services during businesshours and in convenient locations. Whilst the most preferred method for receiving support was face-to-face, the secondmost preferred method was online. This indicates an opportunity to develop online toolsthat are accessible to SBOs. Participants in the qualitative phase were overwhelminglysupportive of a role for the Australian Government in providing these tools. These toolscould be provided in the form of fact sheets, webinars, podcasts, and telephonehelplines. It was suggested that whilst these could be available at an AustralianGovernment website, there should also be some consideration made for the AustralianGovernment to reach out directly to SBOs rather than SBOs having to searchthemselves. Australian Government reaching out would have the added benefit ofcircumventing the issue that many business owners may not realise they need supportin until it is too late. Other ways that the Australian Government could aid in theprovision of support services could be through partnerships with GPs (28% of SBOsthat had accessed support for mental health had done so through their GP or throughindustry bodies and associations). One aspect that was clear from participants was thatit would be important that support would need to be provided by someone with anunderstanding of the operation and main stressors of running a business. This showsus that any support service provided to SBOs would need to have a business focus. Mental health is not generally a high priority for small business strategy. The majority ofbusiness owners had not undertaken any training in recent times and where they had,the focus was either on regulatory issues or on new technology. Whilst overall staffingwas not considered to be as much of a stress factor for SBOs, there was a correlationbetween the size of the business and the amount of stress felt due to staffing. A majorconcern for SBOs during the time of COVID-19 was ensuring their staff would be okay.SBOs were tolerant of mental illness in their staff but were less likely to want their peersand colleagues to know that they were under mental stress. The results could be viewed as indicators for possible areas of policy development forthe provision of mental health services. Future research is indicated to understandmental health support requirements in times of normalcy and to gain a deeperunderstanding of the motivations and challenges that affect mental health supportseeking behaviour among SBOs. An evaluation of the tools and services recommendedfrom the findings of this research is also suggested.Main Report: Small Business Owners and Mental Health 20207
BackgroundLeading mental health organisation, Everymind, conducted one of the first studies specificallyon mental health support for SBOs in New South Wales in 2017. The study found that smallbusinesses account for almost 98% of all actively trading businesses in NSW, but there islimited research on the mental health needs of small business to inform an evidence-basedresponse.While many workplace mental health programs have been developed and proven to beeffective, most are designed for larger organisations. There has been far less investment intothe research and programs specifically targeted at the mental health and wellbeing of SBOs andtheir employees. This is despite a number of unique risk factors faced by SBOs that can resultin poor mental health, poor general health and family conflict. Some of these include financialpressures, high work demands, potential for longer hours, and increased pressure to work whensick.Key findings from the Everymind (2017) research were as follows:- SBOs and workers experience depression, anxiety and stress at concerning levels;- A number of stressors for SBOs were identified, including the obligation to work when sick,financial stress, having multiple responsibilities (including responsibility for staff) andchallenges obtaining a work-life balance. A number of stressors were associated withcurrent symptoms of depression and anxiety, including working in isolation, financialstress, and worry about the impact of the business on others;- Health-related productivity losses in a small business is high, with people often absentfrom work due to ill-health and/or working despite a health-related problem;- Small businesses can be under immense financial pressure;- People working in small business can be time poor, often working long hours;- The small business sector is very diverse, working across a wide variety of industries;- Stigma of mental health may be a barrier for SBOs and workers seeking support services.The Everymind study also reported that SBOs experience a higher prevalence of symptoms ofdepression and almost 80% of SBOs acknowledged the need for more specialised support toaddress mental ill-heath within the small business sector, with the result being the developmentof intervention programs including e-mental health programs.In recognition of this, the Australian Government committed resources and funding including:- 3.1 million to expand the trial of leading mental health organisation Everymind’s ‘Aheadfor Business’ program, targeted at supporting small and family business - particularly soleproprietors.- 500,000 as initial support for a nationwide Australian Government campaign to promoteexisting mental health resources for small business.Main Report: Small Business Owners and Mental Health 20208
As the Everymind study determined prevalence of mental stressors in NSW, the Departmentsought to investigate the national prevalence and to further understand what the stressors forSBOs are in relation to the business lifecycle. A McNair yellowSquares Small Business MentalHealth study commenced in March 2020 with the focus expanded to include specific reactionsto crises, namely the bushfires of 2019-2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. A further objectivewas to dete
Main Report: Small Business Owners and Mental Health 2020 7 When business owners feel anxious and concerned about their business, they are likely to turn to a variety of sources. The main strategies that SBOs have in place are to connect with other people, particularly business colleagues, friends, and family. Even
Ipsos contacted a national sample of 1,048 small business owners in the United States with annual revenue between 100,000 and 4,999,999 and employing between two and 99 employees, as well as 342 interviews of Hispanic small business owners, 307 interviews of Black small business owners and 114 interviews of Asian American small business owners.
available business supports in response to coronavirus from Business Victoria advice, mental health resources and updates on coronavirus from the Department of Health and Human Services. Your mental health plan Supporting other small business owners Considering impacts on others and offering support is an important way to help build a
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